The master's rebirth
by to-lick-a-fro
Summary: One-shot. Voldemort's return in GoF from four different POVs.


_Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son._

My name is Tom Riddle, sr. I am a respectable man of respectable ancestry. My family has always been generous to the community, both in money and in service. Apparently, this, as well as my physical appearance, seemed appealing to that Gaunt girl. Our family always avoided hers, as they were known as violent, filthy and poor, as well as inbred. Not the kind of people my family wanted to get mixed up with. But that stupid girl got obsessed with me. And then, she revealed her darkest, dirtiest secrets of all by cursing me, that witch. She put me under so I couldn't do a thing. She made me fall in love with her, much to the dismay of my parents, of course. But I was unable to do anything, as she apparently proved to be a witch so powerful she could keep me under control for a considerable length of time. We even got married.  
>At last, she got pregnant. I no longer had her undivided attention, and when I was finally able to come up for air and to get the truth out, I left her immediately. I made sure she would never be able to come near me again. Imagine the shame, the talk! I told everyone the truth about the Gaunts, and about the horrific way I was deceived. I never saw the cursed child the girl brought into this world and I don't regret a thing of what I did. A filthy witch, that's what she was.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master.<em>

They call me Wormtail. It's a nickname I've had for quite some time now, and I've grown accustomed to it. Like my rat form, it's become part of who I am. Once, when I was young and foolish, I belonged to a close group of friends. One of them was a werewolf. Stupidly, the other three, myself included, decided that it would be a great idea to keep him company during his monthly agony. Of course, we would be unable to do so in our human form. That's why we became Animagi. Unregistered Animagi, since nobody was to know what we were up to. That was always the strong point of our operations – complete and utter secrecy. I became rather good at it, if I may say so myself.  
>However stupid and useless our venture now may seem, it did provide me with the perfect façade. After I finally got some sense knocked into me by my Lord Voldemort, my life had a new purpose. I helped my Lord to destroy the Potters. Unfortunately, the little boy survived and my Lord had to retreat to save his fading strength. Of course, my loyalty never wavered, and I decided to go undercover and wait for his commands. When I finally found him again, weak and helpless, I nursed him back to some of his former powers. He told me he needed a loyal servant to get back his body. I never hesitated for a moment. I would do anything for my Lord, he need not even ask. I gladly gave my hand for him. If I had to give my other hand as well, he would have it before his lips formed the question. My Lord, the most powerful wizard of all times, will prevail!<p>

* * *

><p><em>Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe.<em>

I usually don't have to introduce myself. People know who I am, their eyes darting towards my forehead, meeting the confirmation of the lightning bolt scar. The one who gave it to me almost died when he used that Killing Curse. Pretty much everyone thought him dead, anyway. But now he's back. And I have to tell everyone that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned.  
>I have to tell Cho and Mr. Diggory that Cedric is dead, and I have to tell my friends, my family and everyone I know that the one thing they fear the most has actually happened. I guess I knew it would happen all along. But that doesn't make it any less of a tragedy. He took my blood, you know. To get stronger. It worked. He could touch me without getting blown to pieces, like he did when he lived as a parasite under Professor Quirrell's turban. He called up all his old friends and tried to kill me the same night he rose again. Fortunately, he failed.<br>The thing is: I'm pretty sure it will get to a confrontation like this again, eventually. It will be between him and me. Me and him. Just the two of us, no old friends or new friends or anyone else. And I have to be ready. Everytime I think about everything that will depend on that confrontation, I feel sick. I shouldn't be the one to carry this enormous responsibility. Yet, at the same time, it's always been me. From the moment he decided to kill me and my parents and reduced himself to ghost-like status, fleeing from the burning ruin that was once the house my family lived in – it's been me. And even if there weren't any personal issues involved, I'd still do it. Because I need to protect my friends. Ron and Hermione. They won't understand, but I need to do this for them. I need to do this for Sirius and Hagrid and Dobby and Dumbledore. I know they won't admit it but they all depend on me. And that's okay. Because that's how it's supposed to go. Because I, Harry Potter, am a wizard.

* * *

><p><em>Tom Marvolo Riddle. I am Lord Voldemort.<em>

I succesfully defeated death. Here I am, alive and well, with a body of my own. Fingers and toes and everything. I suppose I should thank these people, seeing as they made it possible for me to actually be here right now. So thank you, father, for being dead for so long it didn't cost me any effort at all to get to your dusty Muggle skeleton. Thank _you_, loyal servant, for generously donating your four-fingered rat claw. And last but not least: thank you, Harry Potter, for carrying your mommy's noble blood in your veins. No, I'm serious. If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't be here today.  
>I finally have my body back. Frustration and rage gripped me for the last couple of months, having to let Wormtail do everything. I've never seen anyone work slower. He's a stupid Squib, useless without me. But now I can finally do what I was always meant for – live forever. Even though he escaped from that wretched graveyard, I will kill Harry Potter and be done with him. Nobody's going to stop me now, for I have only just begun to explore the limits of my powers. I am Lord Voldemort.<p> 


End file.
